Local Hartlepool business recruits five apprentices within first year of trading!
Northern Utility Solutions Ltd was formed after the founders were made redundant by a previous employer, and decided to use their combined industry experience of more than fifteen years to set up their own business. The organisation’s current operations include monitoring business’ energy contracts and using the latest technologies to help them save both time and money, as well as working with a number of suppliers to reduce their clients’ electric, gas, and water bills.
Currently based in Hartlepool Borough Council’s managed workspace, the Hartlepool Enterprise Centre, Northern Utility Solutions Ltd have recently upgraded to one of the building’s larger units in order to accommodate their recent growth. Since they began trading in February 2021, the business has taken on five apprentices to support the expansion of their operations, four of which are completing apprenticeships in Level 2 Customer Service, while the fifth is taking a Level 2 apprenticeship in Accountancy.
Apprentice, Sean McClosky, pictured left.
The Directors at Northern Utility Solutions have experienced positive results with their apprentices, with Troy Handisides describing one apprentice’s journey:
“We have had a lot of success stories in our apprentice recruitment campaign, it would be difficult to single out just one of our staff members however we must give a special mention to Sean McCloskey.
Sean was our first recruit back in July 2021 who we recruited from Hartlepool Learning Skills. HLS have provided Sean with a solid platform to kick-start his career and he has gone from strength to strength from there. The Apprentice Energy Consultant role is Sean’s first full time Job and he has settled extremely well with Northern Utility Solutions, not only has he consistently hit targets but he has also became a senior member of the team offering his knowledge and experience to our new starters.”
Find out more about Northern Utility Solutions on their Website.
Hartlepool-based bicycle repair shop takes on apprentice to support growing trade!
Rusty Spokes began trading in 2019, under the parent company Run Fit CIC, with the aim in supporting fitness in the local community and making cycling more accessible to the local community. The business started with owner, Andrew Lilley taking in donated bikes to be repaired and then either sold at a low cost or given away to people who may not have had access to a bike under different circumstances.
During the first Coronavirus lockdown, Rusty Spokes really came into its own as the cycling industry boomed across the UK. Rusty Spokes was able to get involved with organisations such as Cycling UK, to organise social bike rides, particularly supporting beginners.
Currently, Rusty Spokes are the only local business providing their service and, as well as repairing bikes themselves, they run maintenance workshops to help their cyclists keep their bikes safe and well looked after. The expansion of these services meant that Andrew was able to take on a modern apprentice in January 2022; the new apprentice, Ethan, will be trained in bicycle repair and maintenance, providing Andrew with another pair of hands and allowing him to hand over some of his duties in the workshop.
Find out more about Rusty Spokes on their Facebook.